11/03/2023

Sifter Joins FoodMed Certified as Founding Member

Albertsons, Uber Health also involved in food-as-medicine program

Managing Editor

Sifter's platform enables people with specialized diets to easily customize their food choices to align with their needs and requirements.

Validation Institute (VI) has revealed that Sifter Solutions has joined its FoodMed Certified Program as a founding member. Launched by Needham, Mass.-based VI earlier this year with support from other founding members Albertsons Cos., Avēsis, Mom’s Meals and Uber Health, FoodMed Certified is the first certification and validation initiative for food-as-medicine programs. The program aims to equip people and organizations with tools and data to facilitate informed decision-making in regard to better health, more active lifestyles and positive outcomes.

“Science and data are ingrained in Sifter’s DNA,” said Judy Seybold, chief nutrition officer of Chicago-based Sifter. “Our platform personalizes food at scale by empowering those with specialized diets to easily customize their food choices to align with their needs and requirements. FoodMed Certified by Validation Institute is a perfect match for Sifter, as both organizations are committed to providing better health outcomes and savings based on data-driven analyses.”

“We are honored that Sifter is a founding member of FoodMed Certified,” noted VI CEO Benny DiCecca. “The platform is an absolute game-changer when it comes to food shopping and personalized dietary needs. We are beyond excited to work with Sifter and all of the founding member organizations to continue FoodMed Certified’s mission to promote the use of food as medicine in the prevention and intervention of illness by validating proven solutions that enable people to better manage their health through tools and nutritious food programs.”

FoodMed Certified delivers added transparency and improved decision-making for employers, healthcare organizations and patients, and assurances that through VI’s validation framework, FoodMed Certified initiatives have undergone an extensive, evidence-based review, with clear measurement standards.

Sifter was created as a diet-specific e-commerce website by Andrew and Thomas Parkinson, founders of Chicago-based Peapod, the world’s first online grocer, which debuted back in 1989, and ItemMaster (now know as Syndigo), a Chicago-based provider of accurate grocery product detail to help shoppers make more informed buying decisions.

Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons, which operates 2,272 retail food and drug stores across 34 states and the District of Columbia under 24 banners, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, Carrs, Kings Food Markets and Balducci’s Food Lovers Market, is is No. 9 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named the company one of its Retailers of the Century.